Led Zeppelin Triumphs at the Ahmet Ertegun Benefit Concert at The O2 in London

Jeremy Singer

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12.11.2007

Led Zeppelin played their first full concert in 27 years in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,000 fans at London’s O2 Arena last night. Fans had won their tickets in a special ballot which saw over one million people apply for the 18,000-plus tickets that were offered. The concert which brought people from over 50 countries together will benefit the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides students with annual scholarships to universities in the U.S., U.K. and Turkey. The late Ertegun, an industry leader for six decades and co-founder of Atlantic Records, died in New York last December.

The capacity crowd London's O2 went wild as the legendary rock band's three surviving members—guitarist Jimmy Page, lead singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones—took to the stage. They were joined by Jason Bonham on drums, son of the late John Bonham.

It took Robert Plant three songs before he offered his cursory "good evening." By that time they'd already blasted through an incendiary “Good Times Bad Times,” a dramatic “Ramble On,” and the blistering Led Zeppelin classic “Black Dog.”

Next, they launched into “Nobody's Fault But Mine” with the band smiling at each other and clearly having a great time together. “No Quarter” was next, and they were locked in as tight as if it were the 1970s.They then launched into a version of “Dazed And Confused” which featured Jimmy Page and his legendary violin bow on his Gibson Les Paul. He was lit up by lasers, and at the song's climax Robert Plant yelled out "Jimmy Page on electric guitar!" in a moment that resonated back to the band’s first gigs in the late '60s.

The iconic “Stairway To Heaven” followed with Page and his famous Gibson double neck. “Kashmir” dramatically finished the main set sounding incredible before the band took a bow. Rapturous applause followed, but it was nothing compared to the mania that greeted the first encore song “Whole Lotta Love.” Finally, after an incredible two-hour set. the band blasted into their second encore, the classic “Rock And Roll.” At the end, Robert Plant paid tribute to their old mentor Ertegun, and the reason that this concert is taking place. With one last bow, the band left the stage to the sound of cheers and applause.

What Led Zeppelin did is prove that they can still perform to the level that originally earned them their legendary reputation.

Promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who staged Live Aid and Live 8, said “The reunion of the band, who’ve sold an estimated 300 million albums, has probably generated more interest than any show I've done".

“Simply blown away by the world's greatest band,” said the Daily Telegraph's music critic David Cheal."Bizarre, beguiling and better than ever," was The Guardian’s music writer Alexis Petridis' headline above a five-star review.

Led Zeppelin, formed in 1968, was named after a joke by The Who’s drummer Keith Moon that the band's heavy sound would “go down like a lead Zeppelin.”' The quartet signed with Atlantic the same year. By the early 1970s, Led Zeppelin was billing itself as “the biggest band in the world.” The group pioneered heavy-metal music with songs such as “Whole Lotta Love” and “Stairway to Heaven.” Led Zeppelin broke up after Bonham died, aged 32, in 1980. Page and Plant have often performed and recorded together since then, though not under the group's name. Jones, who played keyboards as well as bass, joined reunions at 1985's Live Aid and a 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic in 1988, also with Jason Bonham on drums.

Last night’s setlist:“Good Times Bad Times”“Ramble On”‘Black Dog”“In My Time Of Dying”“For Your Life”“Trampled Under Foot”“Nobody's Fault But Mine”“No Quarter”“Since I've Been Loving You”“Dazed And Confused”“Stairway To Heaven”“The Song Remains The Same”“Misty Mountain Hop”“Kashmir”“Whole Lotta Love”“Rock And Roll”

At the after-show party held at IndigO2 unsigned four-piece U.S. band Paper Thin Walls, winners of the Dream Gig online contest in association with www.ziddio.com, performed live with their new Gibson guitars and Slingerland Rolling Thunder drums to the invited guests. The Dream Gig challenged unsigned bands to submit an original song to Ziddio as a chance to launch their musical careers and perform at this landmark gig. Other artists performing at the prestigious late night after show included Ben E King, Bill Wyman, Percey Sledge, Sam Moore, and Solomon Burke.For more information on the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute concert please visit http://www.ahmettribute.com/